I (Marty Grant) don't know how I'm related to the Shadrack Collins
family. I am sure he is somehow related to my ancestor
Jonah Collins (c1774).

Special thanks to Lyn Collins and Ruby Collins
Reed for data shared on this family in MS and LA.

Shadrack Collins was born ca 1780/84 (per census
analysis), possibly in SC, or perhaps in another state.

I don't know who his parents might have been.

There are a couple of Collins families Shadrack
could belong to. He himself was not listed on the 1800 census so it seems likely
he was still at home with his parents then. In 1800 there were no Collins
households with a male born ca 1780/84, however, there were several with males
born ca 1784/90. If he was born ca 1784, then he could be one of those.
Dempsey Collins had one son that age,
but that apparent son was still at home with him in 1810, so probably not the
one. William Collins had one son this
age in 1800. William died that same year (1800), so wasn't listed on the 1810
census. That makes William a good candidate to be Shadrack's father.
Elizabeth Collins, an apparent widow,
had three boys about the right age in 1800. She was gone by 1810, so she is
another strong candidate. One other possibility is
David Collins who was in this area in
1790, but missing in 1800, but back by 1810. In 1790 he had one son under 16
(born ca 1774/90) who was gone from his house by 1810. So that makes William,
Elizabeth and David the prime candidates to be Shadrack's parent. I'm partial to
Elizabeth Collins at present, but have no real proof yet.

The first record we find for Shadrack was when he
(and Thomas Collins and James Martin)
were named as Appraisers of the Estate of
Stephen Collins of Little Pee Dee on 17 Jun 1805. Usually an appraiser was
not a close relative (i.e. not a father or son or brother) so that probably
means that Shadrack and Stephen Collins were probably cousins at best, or
perhaps Uncle - Nephew. (Marion Dist, SC Inventory Book I pg 87 published
in the Pee Dee Queue)

Shadrack Collins married Mary Pounds
(maiden name per Ruby Collins Reed and Lyn Collins) before ca 1805. I don't know
who her parents were, but there were no "Pounds" listed on the
1800 Marion census.

Shadrack Collins was listed on the 1810 census in
Marion District. He wasn't listed near any other Collins families. He was just
two houses from Dempsey Collins who was
old enough to be his father, but I don't think he was his father. No other
Collins families were nearby. His neighbor Dempsey Collins owned property near
Flat Swamp (waters of Catfish Creek) according to several deeds. So perhaps
Shadrack lived in this same area. Dempsey sold this land to Thomas Collins, so
it seems that Dempsey, Thomas and Shadrack could all be brothers. The 1810
census showed an Isam Pounds and a Joseph Pounds in Marion District, but not
listed too near Shadrack's household. Neither of them seemed to be old enough to
be Mary's parents.

I didn't find Shadrack on the 1820 census, at
least not in Marion Dist, SC. He either moved away or died in the 1810-20
timeframe.

I've recently been in contact with two researchers
(Lyn Collins and Ruby Collins Reed) who have a Shadrack Collins about this same
age who was in Marion Co, MS in 1830 and in Perry Co, MS in 1840. Isom Pounds
(who was from Marion Co, SC) also went to these counties, and one of his
children married one of Shadrack's children. This makes it seem very likely that
their Shadrack is the same as this one. In fact, I feel fairly strongly about
him being the same. Isom Pounds was a neighbor to Thomas Collins in Marion
District, SC in 1810 census. Lyn and Ruby have followed this family through MS
records and eventually into LA. I've done the following analysis based on some
information they sent me about the family.

Shadrack apparently left Marion Dist, MS in the
1810-1820 timeframe. I did find a "Shadrac Collins" in Washington Parish, LA in
1820 (and a James Collins also). There was a "William Pounes" on the same page,
so this could be the same folks. Of special note is the fact that Washington
Parish, LA (formed in 1819) borders Marion Co, Mississippi (formed 1811). I feel
sure this is the same Shadrack under study here. Some of his other neighbors in
1820 included James and Thomas Ard who had also been in Marion Dist, SC in 1800.

In 1830, there were no Collins listed in
Washington Parish, LA (nor any Pounds). The Ard family was still there though. I
don't have an 1830 MS census index, but Lyn and Ruby tell me that Shadrack was
listed in Marion Co, MS in 1830. So it would seem that Shadrack moved one county
over between 1820 and 1830, or else he lived in a border area to begin with and
the county / state lines changed. Land records could answer that question.

By 1840 Shadrack moved to Perry Co, MS which
borders Marion Co, MS on the east, so once again, he moved one county over.
(These two counties no longer border each other due to new counties created
afterwards). The 1840 census shows "Shadrick" and Meschack and a "Shadrick Jr"
and a David Collins all listed in Perry Co, MS, and on the same page (though the
census is alphabetical, not in original order).

Lyn and Ruby told me that the family moved to St.
Tammany Parish, LA by 1850, and as they said, I did find some of the Collins
family listed there on the 1850 census. As before, they didn't move far, as St.
Tammany is the next county below Washington Parish, LA (where Shadrack was in
1820). I found a W. Collins age 44 (or 49?), born SC, this must be William
Collins. Members of the Pounds family were listed on the same page with him. All
the older ones born in SC. Other Collins were nearby as well.

Some of the family remained in Perry Co, MS, as I
found some still there, including: Abednego Collins, age 38 (c1812) born SC,
next door to a widow Mary Collins, 59 (c1791) born SC. This is probably the
widow of Shadrack. Just two houses away from her is Peter Collins, 31 (born MS),
possibly a son; David Collins age 36 (born SC) is a few pages away. He might
also be a son.

Children

Shadrack Collins and Mary Pounds apparently had
several children, many of whom seem to be in Perry Co, MS and St. Tammany
Parish, LA in 1850. Ruby Reed gave me a list of their children's names. See the
register report below for the data I have so far, most of
the children's data was gleaned from the 1850 census, and from earlier census
records. I have not seen any primary documents proving that these are actually
Shadrack's kids, but circumstantial evidence seems to strongly suggest that they
are his kids, though it is possible some are nephews instead.

Researcher List

Persons researching this family (click
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